Adventures of depravedDyer at Blue Moonhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com
Fri, 31 Jul 2015 23:17:56 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.6Deconstructed & Once in a Blue Moonhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/31/deconstructed-and-once-in-a-blue-moon/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/31/deconstructed-and-once-in-a-blue-moon/#commentsFri, 31 Jul 2015 23:17:56 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001744First, real quickly, for those taking part in Sock Sniper, it starts tomorrow, and you all have a coupon code.

It’s always so interesting to see how folks work with our colorways. When local designer Katherine Leek approached me about breaking down some of our Multicolor Wave colorways into her lovely and super wearable Deconstructed shawlette, I was tickled. The pattern is the perfect blend of knitterly interest and mindless knit, and the color combinations are almost endless.

So endless in fact that we had to limit it (and ourselves – do you know how fun it is to break down color ways into their composite parts? TOO MUCH FUN!)

As Katherine herself says,

Have you ever looked at a skein of Blue Moon Fiber Arts Socks That Rock and wanted to wear that skein? Exactly that skein. Well I have. Repeatedly and often. And thus Deconstructed came to be. A color block shawl that breaks BMFA’s incomparable colorways down into their basic components and then puts them back together in a wearable form. So you can wear that skein. Exactly.

We’re starting with just a few deconstructed colorways, to whet your knitterly whistles:

The shawlette is in Socks that Rock Lightweight, so hop on over to the website, grab three skeins, and get your needles ready. If there’s a color you’d like to see Deconstructed, send us an email and let us know. We’ll work our magic and deconstruct it…

AND, this is so much fun, you better keep your eyes peeled for even more deconstructed colorways.

Also, did you know that tonight, there will be a Blue Moon? Like, a real, live, in-the-sky Blue Moon. Which works perfectly for our Barn Sale, since, you might have realized, we are all about the Blue Moon. And, much like a Blue Moon, a Barn Sale doesn’t happen every day.

The BARN SALE hours are 9:00 to 5:00 tomorrow, Saturday August 1st at the BIG RED BARN in the land of Blue Moon (56587 Mollenhour Rd. Scappoose 97056).

Google us – their directions are great!

Once you are in Scappoose if you are coming from Portland then go through town until you hit the last light which is right after the fire station. That light is Scapposse-Vernonia HWY on your left. You will turn left onto Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy. and take is approx. 7.5 miles.

The next road you want is Chapman Rd. which you are turning left on. You can only turn left.

(DO NOT take the road before Chapman Rd which is Chapman Grange Rd – it is wrong and a very rural road.)

The next turn is also a left onto Mollenhour Rd which is the first street you will come to after you turn onto Chapman

Go up Mollenhour about an 1.8 of a mile . Our gravel drive which is on the right and marked by a piece of driftwood and green house number signs. 56587. Turn right here and follow it all the way to where it dead ends into us.

It was just May and the flowers were just blooming and then boom it is the end of July. We were meeting about things up and coming and I looked at the calendar and almost passed out. So needless to say it has been a very busy few months here.

We are training not one, or even two, but three new dyers. I know. It’s a lot. It’s enough to make this dyer’s head spin. But…it was way past time and well, when the universe sends you people that want to play with dye then you open the door, invite them in and teach them how to do it! So a hearty welcome to Laurie, Jessica and Trista. And since we are welcoming new team members we also have Brandy and Kalia in production.

All the new dyers is one of the reasons for the Rare Gems offering and has also given us more yarn then usual for Barn Sale. We could nickname this sale the learning curve sale!! hehe

Next week is out Annual Barn Sale and Dye Day party! Yay!!!! I love this day so very much. It is so much fun. I look forward to it just about all year. We get to have great color fun and we get to see all of you wonderful knitters that we have not seen in about a year.

We have had the Barn sale and Dye days up on the website since June and the dye slots are almost all sold out so if you wanted one now is your chance!

Yes we will have an indigo vat going and hopefully some carding fun too and whatever other fun things we can think up.

The sale is Saturday August 1st in our red barn at Blue Moon from 9:00 to 5:00

Address is 56587 Mollenhour Road, Scappoose Oregon 97056

If you can carpool we would really appreciate it, because parking is limited. We ask (beg) you not to park on any of our neighbors land. Come all the way down to the end to where the gravel drive dead ends into us and we will squeeze you in. If necessary we’ll put you down in the lower 40 by the chicken coop.

Directions:

Google us their directions are great!

Once you are in Scappoose if you are coming from Portland then go through town until you hit the last light which is right after the fire station. That light is Scapposse-Vernonia HWY on your left. You will turn left onto Scappoose-Vernonia Hwy. and take is approx. 7.5 miles.

The next road you want is Chapman Rd. which you are turning left on. You can only turn left.

( DO NOT take the road before Chapman Rd which is Chapman Grange Rd it is wrong.)

The next turn is also a left onto Mollenhour Rd which is the first street you will come to after you turn onto Chapman

Go up Mollenhour about an 1.8 of a mile . Our gravel drive which is on the right and marked by a piece of driftwood and green house number signs. 56587. Turn right here and follow it all the way to where it dead ends into us.

Yay! You are here!

Please note that there is no cell service up here.

If you are coming to DYE!

Please wear something that you don’t mind getting dye on or bring an apron. You don’t think you will spill or get dye on yourself but it almost always happens. It’s all that color concentration that is going on.

Come at least 15 minutes before your scheduled time so we can get you set up and your yarn soaking.

Bring your lunch and hang out with us and the chickens and enjoy the day. It is supposed to be a stunning one. Also if it is supposed to be hot we are 10 degrees cooler here! One of the many perks of living up here. Although in the winter it’s a little cold.

Okay I think that covers all the details you need. OH, one more thing. If you can bring your own shopping bags that would be extra wonderful.

A side note to our story winners. I have not forgotten about you. I am musing!

Thank you for your patience!

Happy Knitting everyone!!

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/23/barn-sale-and-dye-day/feed/0Rare Gemshttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/10/rare-gems/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/10/rare-gems/#commentsFri, 10 Jul 2015 16:24:03 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001731I was in the storage pod a few weeks back looking for samples. I noticed that there were quite a few boxes of yarn in need of over-dyeing. As most of you know anytime one of our colorways does not meet our rigid colorway standard ( A Farmhouse colorway needs to look like a Farmhouse colorway!) we hold them back and once we have enough of them we over-dye them to our hearts content. Well… I do and this time my daughter, Sophie, played along with me for awhile. What comes from all this double duty of color on yarn are some pretty extraordinary, one-of-a-kind, colorways.

I love them! I love everything about our Rare Gems!

I love dyeing them. I love rinsing them and hanging them to dry. I love winding them into balls. And… I love knitting them! Putting the dye on then, watching it react with the colors already there, making new hues and all kinds of subtle and not so subtle shading. Magic! Just magic!

I love rinsing them out and seeing how all of that depth and layers of color turned out and then yet again when it is drying. We have a few rules in the barn in relationship to me and our Rare Gems because… I just might have a teeny tiny problem in this area. I am allowed to look all I want but if I want any of them to be mine then Debra and Paula and I have to confer. It’s fair. Otherwise one of those big ol’ storage pods we have would be full of my Rare Gem stash and I just can’t be that person. Also, there would not be any for you guys and that is not fair. At one point, a few years ago, I will cop to having quite a few rubber maid bins full of them but, I let go and sold most of them at the last Barn Sale.

We will put these Rare Gems up for sale this afternoon (Friday, June 10th) around 1:00pm our time . The last time we did this they were gone in about a few hours so… .

Yes they do cost a teeny bit more because of the whole twice dyed, more work, thing!

I think that is all you need to know and some that you don’t on the Rare Gem front now onto our lovely color stories!

Thank you so much for your color stories I am honored and humbled by them! I am mulling them over and will be working on them in the next few weeks. We have lots of vacations this month and I am the fill in, so busy, busy me. This week I am Becky ( dyer) next week I am Paula ( shipping and customer service) and then the following week I am Debra (dyer and production mgr) . I know… it’ a damn good thing I am a mercurial Gemini! If you can be patient with me that would be all kinds of awesome!

Next Friday we are taking down the list below of Summertime colorways so we can add more, some of which are brand new! Yay!

As always if there is one of our colorways you would like to see then let us know in the comments section.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I have been soaking up all the vitamin D I can. Lots of walking and playing in the garden.

Summertime colorways coming down Friday July 17th:

Afternoon Delight

Baby Mama

Algae

Bait-a

Beached

Boobie 1

Braun’s Woods

Citrine

Clare de Lune

Confetti

Coral’s Reefer Madness

Firebird

Flashmobbin’

Gastropod Shuffle

Hot Lips

Lady Edith

Lunasea

Maia

Pebble Beach

Rhodonite

Sassmaster Skein

Shibui

Socktopus

Sunkissed Sands

Tide Pool

Tinks Toots

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/10/rare-gems/feed/0And the winners are…http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/01/and-the-winners-are-2/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/07/01/and-the-winners-are-2/#commentsWed, 01 Jul 2015 01:39:32 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001725I’ve spent a good part of the afternoon reading these colorway names stories and trying to decide on a winner. And you know what?

I can’t. I just can’t pick one.

I love them all equally.

I love that the six of you took the time to write these creatively wonderful tales of hue. I love how they made us all laugh with delight. So…I might not be the boss of much, but I am the boss of this little contest. I say you are all winners!!! Yay!! Which means I will make a colorway for each of you.

Here is how I would like that to work. (Still riding the~I am the boss of this.~ wave.)

What I need from each of you is going to involve a little more writing. Obviously, as evidenced in your winning stories, you are up to the challenge. What I would like you to write for me is your own personal color story so I can then make it into a colorway for you. Please be descriptive and not too poetically vague. If the colors of the sea are what floats your boat (pun intented) then tell me all about the hows and whys it floats it. Does it float it on a clear day when the sun is dipping below the horizon setting both the sky and sea ablaze in orange light or maybe you are more of a dark and stormy grey seas kind of person. This is what I need to know. The more descriptive you are the more I have to go on. If you love browns because they remind you of when you were a little tyke sitting in your grandfather’s lap for story-time and he was wearing his favorite golden tweed blazer smoking form his mahogany pipe while reading to you about Gulliver’s Travels and cozily sitting in an overstuffed rust red leather chair. You can also add in how it makes you feel.

( Get it?)

I would also like you to give your colorway story a name. I will then put that name to the colorway I create for you based on your story. So choose something you like and that is not too long. Other wise Paula will be mad at me ( because it has to fit on a skein tag) and well, we don’t want that.

Sound good? Doable?

Let’s keep this little color game of ours going on in the comments so everyone can share in the fun . So go ahead and put your personal colorway story in the comments of this post and congratulations:

Shannon made it live on Monday so you’ve probably already seen these pictures and have the coupon code. The code is for 15% off of any color Laci, dated 6/20/15 -7/22/15; on 7/22/15, it changes to 10% and expires 1/31/16. One time use per customer.

Summertide is a stunning wrap, perfect for summer. Also it looks to be a super fun knit! Since Shannon knit it in one of our Multi-colorways ( Tina’s Silver Lining) we decided to add a bunch of mulit’s to our usual Laci color offerings. I am trying to choose Willapa Bay, Single Cell Dating Pool and Tina’s Silver Lining. I am leaning heavily towards Single Cell Dating Pool at the moment but this morning I was sure it was going to be Willapa Bay.

What colorway will you choose?

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/06/25/big-ass-skein-society-3/feed/0Knitty fun and color changing.http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/06/10/knitty-fun-and-color-changing/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/06/10/knitty-fun-and-color-changing/#commentsWed, 10 Jun 2015 18:55:33 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001699Okay so I am sure that most of you have seen the Summer Knitty. It’s live and full of summertime fun and stunning knits. Especially one that this knitter is super excited about! Baker Street Scarf, designed by Joan of Dark, modeled by Neil Gaiman and based on the scarf worn in BBC’s series, Sherlock. I love Sherlock so Baker Street Scarf is going to be an absolute must knit for me.

It’s all pretty exciting!

I can tell you I was thrilled when Amy contacted me and asked me if I wanted to be part of a super secret project. Partly, because I like to be involved in super secret projects and partly,because of my love for all things Sherlock, and Neil Gaiman and Joan. Of course the other reason is that this whole thing involved my Ravens and well, I do so love me some shadowy color creating.

So off to the drawing board to pick a yarn base and dream up a Raven to add to the clan. We chose Gaea which is one of our bases that certainly does not get the attention it deserves. Thick and so soft with superb stitch definition. A great scarf yarn and one that would work well in a darker color to help accent the stitches. Then off to the dye table to birth a Raven. I chose deep blues and blue greens for “Say Nevermore” to highlight the black since Mr. Gaiman likes to wear black and to keep some of the Sherlock’s scarf color in there. I think it worked well. I hope you agree.

A really stunning scarf to knit and wear whether you are solving crime, creating magical stories or designing knitwear – really, no matter who you are!

*******

It’s that time again! Time to change colors out. Below you will find the list of colorways that will be on hiatus starting this Friday June 12th.

And under this list is yet, another list. A list of summertime hues. We are going to put these up for a few weeks and then change them out again, because it turns out we have a whole bunch of summer color! So very much and I wanted to do some more neon ones too so look for those in the coming weeks.

I was thinking a contest might be fun to do with all of these colorway names. It’s so fun to see and read them in a random list. We make up all kinds of songs and stories based on these lists. It’s so fun! So…what if you made up stories using say 25 of the colorways names in the list of ones that are going up this Friday. You can choose any 25 from this list. Be creative! Be wacky! You can post them here is the comments section of this post for all of us to see. Each person gets one story submission and team Blue Moon will choose a winner. The grand prize is that I will make you you’re very own colorway. You can name it and tell me what you would like it to be and then I will translate it into a colorway! Because there are only so many hours in the day your word count is 350. You have until June 25 to submit and we will choose by June 30th. Sound good?!!

Summer color fun!

A few reminders:

Notorious Sock Knitters, the 15% part of the club expires on July 15th. So make sure you use it by then. After July 15th it goes to 10%. The code is in the January Dyer’s Notes.

We will be putting the Dye Day and Barn Sale info up on the website this weekend so look for that. The dye slots fill up fast!

Our next BASS goes live around June 20th so look for that Form Shannon!

Ok I think that is all for right now.

Enjoy the sun!

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/06/10/knitty-fun-and-color-changing/feed/6Mornings in Parishttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/05/31/mornings-in-paris/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/05/31/mornings-in-paris/#commentsSun, 31 May 2015 16:01:43 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001695Isn’t this a beautiful shawl?!

Angela submitted this design to us in a call for submission for the sock club. We thought it would look beautiful in a shaded solid and did not have plans to send out a shaded solid for that month of the club. So we asked her if she wanted to work together on something fun with this design and she did. We decided on Yaksi Fingering as the yarn based because of the drape and well, it is just an exquisite yarn, especially for shawls. There are two sizes for you to choose from ( We do love to have choices) the smaller shawlette takes one skein and the larger Shawl takes two. For what it is worth, my two cents is that you are going to want to knit the larger one. It’s just so pretty. The larger Mornings in Paris is knit in The New Color of Love and the smaller on is knit in Help US Rhonda.

I think Mornings in Paris is not only a wonderful Summer knit, just the kind to hold our attention but not too much to distract us from boating on the bay, but also a great summer shawl to wear around town when those cooler ocean breezes blow in.

photo credit: Angela Baldi

Thanks Angela for a stunning design and for a fun summertime knit.

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/05/31/mornings-in-paris/feed/0A few Springy knits…http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/04/23/a-few-springy-knits/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/04/23/a-few-springy-knits/#commentsThu, 23 Apr 2015 23:15:09 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001666It’s hard to believe but nonetheless, it’s time for our second installment in the Big Ass skein Society. Shannon sent out the link to the pattern and the discount code ealrier in the week for this months featured big ass skein, the oh so lovely, Silky Victoria.

Colorways Shown are Enchanted Forest ( The green one.) and Help US Rhonda ( The not green one.)

Aren’t they pretty?!

I’m a woman who loves choices. So… that we have the ability to choose to knit this in two different ways really makes me all kinds of happy. I have seen them both in person and thought I might be able to pick a fav and to be honest I can’t. I do know that with my wardrobe (Can you hear my girls laughing at me calling my clothing a wardrobe.) and my tendency towards warmth, the bigger loop is most probably the way to go for me. I do really really like the hood cowl version too though. It’s just so very cozy and it does get cold enough here. Hmm… I might just have to knit them both!

Poor me right?! First world problem for sure.

We have extended the discount codes for our BASS. Now they go for just about the whole year instead of the 2 month window.

Shannon and both hope you all are enjoying our Big Ass skeins and patterns as much as we are creating them.

Oh well, that’s not quite true. Zippers still intimidate me. Nonetheless, I would overcome my fears to knit this. I love the lines and the simplicity . The perfect, hopping around town or hiking or walking on the beach kind of sweater which are my favorite kinds.

Also…it has pockets!!! If it’s a walk on the beach sweater it needs pockets for a seashell or two!!

And… it is knit with our Targhee Worsted which I am still head over heels in love with.Speaking of Targhee we might be adding another to our list so do look out for that on the website soonish.

I am working on new colorways for the summer and fall so if you have any ideas color wise or even for a theme please let me know in the comments section and I will see what I can come up with. Also… on the good news front we have hired three new Blue Moonies. Please join me in welcoming Samantha, Brandy and Nikki to Team Blue Moon. We are absolutely thrilled to have them join us.

Okay I think that is about it for now. I am done with all my treatments now and am recovering well. Of course not as fast as I would like to but I am being patient with myself and taking it slow. Slow ans steady does win this race! I will be posting a lot more now that I have the energy for it! Thanks so much for your patience and well wishes.

I love our big-ass skeins (I cannot lie). I also love Shannon’s designs. In turn Shannon also loves our Big Ass Skeins. So… we decided what better way to celebrate this mutual love than to combine the two into a bi-monthly pattern, a discount-on-big-ass-skeins and color plotting thing. Great fun right?!

Actually this all started a few years ago when my buddy Karen Alfke and I were at her kitchen counter doing some serious design planning. At some point in our scheming Karen mentioned that she dreamed of a club that featured our big ass skeins. As soon as the words were out of her mouth she and I exchanged that look. You know the one. It’s the one that is usually followed by, “oh no we can’t. Oh yes we can. Oh hell, YES we can!!!” The one that in this case says, we needed some sort of big ass skein fun. Oh, and a plan.

Unfortunately for me, but not for Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, Karen is a very busy woman these days making wondrous things happen for them. So (with Karen’s blessing) in waltzes Shannon and since, she also shares our love of the big ass skein and our sense of whimsy, off we go with our Big Ass Skein Society. Imagine… a society of knitters with an appreciation for a springy, cozy, soft, colorful, luxurious big ass skein of yarn. Oh Yeah! I do love a big ass skein of yarn.

So what do you get and how does it work?

A brand-new pattern designed especially for one of BMFA’s ginormous skeins every other month for a year by the lovely Shannon Squire.

A coupon code for 10% off an order for the recommended yarn for that months design at our website, good for 2 whole months.

A community of like-minded individuals working on the same project around the same time frame at Shannon’s Ravelry group

Lots of knitting and color support.

Pattern giveaways.

Contests.

To join just head over to Ravelry and purchase this Ebook. At this time, you’ll receive a one-page PDF with most of the same information you’re reading here and a few more details, like the discount information. The first pattern will be released on or around February 21st, and then every other month, from February through December, you’ll get another wonderful pattern, discount code and huge amounts of knit fun.

]]>http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/04/03/vesna-by-shannon-squire/feed/0Another week flies by or time flies when you’re dyeing yarn!http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/02/27/another-week-flies-by/
http://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/2015/02/27/another-week-flies-by/#commentsFri, 27 Feb 2015 22:48:57 +0000depravedDyerhttp://blog.bluemoonfiberarts.com/?p=1001653It’s Friday already. How does that happen? It seems like just yesterday it was Monday and then boom, here we are at Friday.

Since it means I have another week of radiation under my belt with only 8 more treatments to go I will say, Hi-dee-ho Friday so very good to see you and move on.

We have been very busy little dyers prepping Twisted for the Rose City Yarn Crawl and also dyeing all the BFL Sport ordered for the Big Ass Skein Club, plus a few LYS orders thrown in for good measure. So much BFL and LSS!! The Lan Su colorway I created for Twisted for our beloved RCYC is so pretty in the LSS, especially when there’s almost 100 skeins of it hanging gracing the rafters in the dye barn. I want to put it all in a big pile and crawl into and take a dreamy nap.

Twisted is seriously stocked with Blue Moon yarns and color for the crawl. The two colorways I created are Lan Su in honor of our magical Chinese Garden and Saturday Market. I had so much fun coming up with these two colorways. Saturday Market was easy peasy I just went with bright, happy with a smidge of hippie and a dash of rainbow. A little tie dye inspiration. I love Yasgur’s Farm Market Bag that Megan Parrish designed. It’s the perfect compliment to my Saturday Market colorway and to our local craft and farmer’s markets, especially our Saturday Market.

And then there’s Lan Su Garden Cowl by Katherine Leek which is so very pretty. I think everyone is going to want to knit themselves at least one of these. I definitely want one in the Lan Su colorway. Then again I also might want a blanket with LSS or Sookie in the Lan Su colorway with it’s depth of watery hues.

On Sunday March 8th, the last day of the crawl, Blue Moon will have a trunk show at Twisted with all of our most recent designs and, also, some of our long standing most popular. We are lucky enough to have our 2 designs by Carol Feller from this past Fall, Capall Dubh and Landscape Waves. So if you want a gander at those they will be there in all of their knit glory.

I hope everyone has an absolute blast!! We are so lucky to have such a fun and well organized yarn crawl. I think we all should take a moment to appreciate and even thank those who work so hard to make this happen fr us. As someone who has organized big things I know a whole lot of work is involved.

As I said earlier we dyed the first round of BFL orders for The Big Ass Skein Society! Those will be shipping out on Monday and Tuesday. I can’t wait to see all of these colorways knit up into that beautiful shawl, Vesna that Shannon designed.

One of the best parts of these knit-a-longs is seeing how all the colors knit in one pattern. I walk in the barn and look at them all hanging there and think to myself ( but often out loud) “Wow I never thought of that colorway for this.” over and over and over. I am sure everyone else in the barn gets sick of this but for me it is constant wonder and magic.

One other thing before I head off to check on the baby chicks the Rockin’ Whorl Club will ship out on Monday. Sorry for the 2 day delay. I forgot there were not 31 days in this month and evidently right now I really need my months to have 31 days in them. I promise it is worth the wait. I love this color and fiber combo so much that it kind of makes me weak in the knees.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend. I plan on not getting up at 5:00 am and maybe catching up on Grimm!